I try not to eat after 8:00 PM, for me it's more about my ability to sleep than diet.

KISSFAN1
Posts:
6,257
5/17/11 12:14 P

For me, I don't really worry about the time of day. I sometimes eat dinner really late because I'm out of the house and don't want to get fast food and didn't pack anything to take with me. I've lost weight with no problems despite that.

I didn't take the time to read all the previous entries, so this might have already been said? Sorry if it's a repeat. Any-who. I am a Jillian fan...and she says to try to never eat after 9pm as it messes with your bodies ability to sleep deep and break down the nutrients it needs. I have also heard that it doesn't matter when you eat. A calorie is a calorie..but I have found my weight loss is a happier experience if I don't eat after 9pm. However...if you are still under calories eat something NOT w/ carbs. Hope this helps a little :)

THISYEARSMODEL
Posts:
3,292
5/17/11 4:34 A

My crazy schedule has had me eating at all kinds of crazy hours, and it has not affected my weight loss in the least. All that matters is calories in vs. calories out. Your body doesn't know or care what time of day that happens. It's dark in there!

It's definitely more important to get your nutrients and calories for the day and people if you are hungry, eat something! There are options. Listen to your body. Some days for me that will mean eating more at night and not being hungry during the day, other days it's the opposite. But I do always have to check after dinner to see where I'm at on my calories, and very often I'm under. The trick is plan your snack. It's certainly not a free pass to eat junk or veg out. As long as you are within your ranges it doesn't matter when you eat. Do what works for you and don't stress about it!

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I have read somewhere that you should stop eating at least 3 hours before bed time. I usually stop eating by 8PM. If I get hungry after I drink water.

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KAYLA1010
Posts:
119
1/23/11 1:31 P

I actually have dinner around 8:30 at night and a snack around 9:30. And head to bed around 11-11:30. By pushing my dinner/snack back further at night, I'm less likely to have late night snacking urges. I'm staying within my calorie range and have not seen a weight gain because I'm 'eating late'. Hope that helps a little.

MANDY109 " If you go to sleep at 11pm, don't eat after 8pm. This way, when you go to sleep your stomach won't be full and you'll be burning fat all night long, instead of just burning the calories you had in your late night snack while you're getting your ZzzzZzzz's."

Sorry, that's the myth others are referring to in this thread. That is in incorrect statement and has no basis in reality.

Digestion is a many-hours process. You're not done with your dinner by bedtime anyway, regardless of when you ate it.

What matters for "burning fat" is total calories in and out over the day, over a period like a week. If it's, on average, a deficit, then you burn fat to fill in that deficit. It does not matter if on some days you ate food late at night and then went straight to sleep - you'll still burn those food calories the day following.

If you're still hungry by 9pm have some carbs. They act as a sedative and you're more likely to fall asleep better. You get energy from protein so it wouldn't be a good idea to have a snack that has a high amount of protein in it.

there are 2 instances when you should not eat after a certain time. some people, when they eat close to bed, have issues sleeping while they are digesting too. for these people not eating a few hours before bed [depends on the person] is beneficial so that they can sleep. the second instance is where the weight gain thing comes into play. there are people, who if they don't cut off after a certain time [like dinner] will plop down on the couch with a family sized bag of chips, eat the whole thing, wonder why they didn't notice that they got the almost empty bag of chips [that really was full, they just ate the whole thing without noticing], get up, get another family sized container and polish that off too, etc. these people will mindlessly shovel food into themselves without any regard to what it is or how much of it they are eating. these people benefit from setting deadlines because not eating simply means not eating thousands of calories they didn't need in the first place.

not everyone has these issues. for the people that do, it's a great solution. for the people that don't have them, it doesn't make a difference either way. i eat can eat a last full meal within minutes of going to bed and be fine. as long as it fits in your calories and works for you, it's fine.

if you are having issues with wanting to eat fewer times, bump up the portions in your meals. if you were using a 1 cup portion before, make it 1.25 or 1.125 cups. little bumps in everything you eat should help you get closer to where you should be.

If it is 9pm and you are hungry AND you are still low on calories for the day, by all means eat something. Make sure it is something that contains some protein and/or fat so that you won't just be hungry again in another hour. If you are low on calories, there is no reason for you to be hungry until morning.

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I actually am having the same problem, I find it hard sometimes to reach my minimum caloric intake as well. It's easier for me to stop my late night snacking when I enter my nutrition when I get home from work. This way, I can see how many more calories I need at dinner so I don't eat before bedtime.

Also, I read an article from a fitness magazine that there really isn't a said 'cut off' time to stop eating before bed since everyone has different times they hit the sack, but it's a good idea to try and stop eating 3 hours before your bedtime. If you go to sleep at 11pm, don't eat after 8pm. This way, when you go to sleep your stomach won't be full and you'll be burning fat all night long, instead of just burning the calories you had in your late night snack while you're getting your ZzzzZzzz's. I always try thinking about that before late night nibbling.

I hope any of this helps you!!

Good luck :)

Edited by: MANDY109 at: 1/20/2011 (22:22)

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CRZYQUILTER
Posts:
4,677
1/20/11 9:29 P

when you go to bed. Otherwise you get crumbs in it. Seriously, as long as eating before bed doesn't interrupt your sleep there is no deadline to stop eating.

Actually, I like to eat the 9pm snack, because I have several daily medications I take and that's when I take them. I just wanted to know if it was ok in terms of weight-loss or something I needed to adjust.

P.S. It is VERY important to meet your minimum for caloric intake each day, so you're doing the RIGHT thing! Otherwise, your body will hold on to whatever it's got because it can go into starvation mode without adequate calorie intake.

Everything that I've read says that eating at night does NOT impact weight - that the body metabolizes food the same as any other time of day. It CAN impact comfortable sleeping and particular heatlh issues.

Three snacks a day are NOT a problem. However, have you considered eating bigger meals throughout the day if it's bothering you to eat at night?

I have trouble getting to the minimum for calories and usually at least one other nutrient a day. (It depends on the day, but it's usually carbs and/or protein, but almost never fat.)

It's so counter-intuitive to me that after I've eaten three meals, I should eat more to meet that minimum, but I have been doing it. It usually means at least 3 snacks a day though. So, my question is, at what point in the day should I have met my goals? I've heard people say that eating after a certain time leads to more weight gain.

I usually end up having to eat a 9pm snack to get in my minimums. I go to bed at 10pm, so this seems pretty late to me to be eating. What should I do?!

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